1A Pre-Season Top 10

[RhinoFirefighter]

1. Chimacum-Defending Champs. Arguably the best pitching staff in the state.
2. Tenino-Played for the title last year. Only lost two guys off that team.
3. Naches Valley-Pitching, Coaching and because I think last year was a fluke.
4. Cashmere-Program, Coaching, Athletes and because I think last year was a fluke.
5. Montesano-5th last year-Very young last year got knocked out of the State Tournament by 3rd place Meridian
6. Kalama-Very young last year got knocked out of the State Tournament by 3rd place Meridian.
7. Kiona-Benton-Lost to Tenino in extra-innings last year. Not sure on what’s coming back.
8. Meridian-3rd Place last year. Lost a whole lot but good coaching/program.
9. Bellevue Christian-4th last year. Lost their Ace and best hitter.
10. Columbia-Burbank-5th last year-Lost to 2nd place Tenino last year.
This post was edited on 2/20 4:13 PM by RhinoFirefighter
This post was edited on 2/20 4:13 PM by RhinoFirefighter

 

[dontgetburned]

Rhino, I don't agree with Tenino or BCS. They both took 5th in their district tournaments. A 5th place finish was lucky enough to get them to the Regionals on the East side of the Mountains where the teams were weaker than normal. That's the only reason they ended up in Yakima.

 

[SCACerWEST]

No Zillah? 8 returning starters, alot of talent and very high expectations this season for the leopards. Keep them in mind

 

[YakiMan]

Here is my top 10 for the Eastside of the mountains in 2012.

Eastside Top 10

1. Zillah- District 5 Champs last year and have almost everyone back. Will this be the year that Naches finally gets beat in SCAC West league play? Ross and Messmore are two of the many returners that are expected to have big years.

2. Cashmere- Watched them play this summer. They’re a solid team. Loomis is the best pitcher on the east side. They have games with Wenatchee and Eastmont early in the season. CTL favorites, and may be top team in the East.

3. Naches- Underachieved big time last season by not making it out of district. Graduated Walker and Johns, but still have talent. Cole Gilman and Noe Gonzalez will be their two best arms and look for them to battle with Zillah for the top spot in the West.

4. Kiona Benton- Daniel Deaton is the best pitcher in the SCAC East. Has a nice supporting cast around him.

5. Freeman-NEA Favorite led by Zakheim and VanderLinden. It will be interesting to see how they match up with Zillah and Naches when they play during Spring Break.

6. Royal- A very young team last year with high expectations this Spring. Danny Vermeer is one of the top arms in the SCAC. Montoya, Christiansen, and Westcott make up a solid junior class.

7. Connell- New Coach inherits quite a bit of talent. Salisbury and Van Hollebeke are returning 1st teamers, and Bermudez is another good arm.

8. Chewelah- They were playing very well at the end of last year and they bring back a solid group of returners led by 1st teamer Calvin Connall

9. Chelan- Should be one of the top teams in the CTL. Quigley is their ace, and Gocke and Schramm are two other solid arms for the Goats.

10. This spot could be Columbia Brubank, Cascade, Newport, ….take your pick

 

[dontgetburned]

YakiMan, Great input. Thanks fot the update on the eastside. I'll be watching to see if Zillah can beat Naches and really win the SCAC West.

 

[baseball6969]

rhino, no love for rochester?

 

[RhinoFirefighter]

Yakiman: Yeah, thanks for the input. Like I said in a different post/thread, I dont know much about the Eastside. I actually did have Zillah in the Top 10 but took them out when I realized that Meridian and Bellevue Christian weren't in there, not to mention Rochester. Sounds like if nothing else, I should have had Zillah in instead of Col-Bur. I clearly have a westside bias, but its only because I have no knowledge of what's going on east of the mountains and feel like I do have a bit of a grasp over here. If I were to do a westside Top 10:

1. Chimacum
2. Tenino
3. Montesano
4. Kalama
5. Meridian
6. BCS
7. Rochester
8. Ridgefield
9. CCS
10. Friday Harbor

 

[BlueLagoon]

Just to talk a little bit about the SCAC West and East.
WEST
1.Naches- Good hitting team that have two top end starters with Gilman and Gonzalez. Coleman Johns can also factor into that. The only problem I see is that both starters this year have not got many innings in pressure situations as Johns and Walker got a majority of the innings last year.
2.Zillah- Zillah in my opinion is a very hot and cold team. They have the talent to impress especially with the stick. Pitching will determine how their season turns out. Ross and Messmore will have to lead the team if they look to get back to Regionals.
3.Highland- Very young team. Started 4 or 5 freshman this year. They can hit pretty well. Interested to see how where there pitching staff goes without Packard. They have two brothers in the Mitchums who throw and Christenson should factor in as well.
4.Goldendale- Lost 6 or 7 seniors. Should be a rebuilding year for the Timberwolves. They do have Denney who can hit the leather off the ball but behind him and Dobson I don't know what they have left in the cupboard.

EAST
1.Ki-Be- They have a good hitting team and Deaton is a quality starter. Losing Mason can be problematic but overall the most complete team on the eastside of the league.
2.Burbank- Always a good program. Seems to impress when they get down the stretch. Don't know too much about them so this is based off of reputation.
3.Connell- Good school of athletes. Always find a couple of ball players. Playing in the friendly confines of Eagle field they have the definite homefield advantage.
4.Royal- Kind of a surprise last year. Have a solid core of kids that can swing the stick. Don't know if they have the Christenson kid coming back but if they do he should be one of the premier hitters in the league.

 

[SCACerWEST]

Naches also has a few dead spots in their line-up now that Johns and Walker left.
For Zillah I cant think of any, their 6 hitter lead the team in BA. and their lead-off lead the team in RBI's, very tough hitters throughout.
Highland should be a tough squad, from watching them play last year, they showed heart even if their talent didnt match the other teams.

 

[diamondfan11]

Kiona-Benton was actually District 5 champs in 2011; Zillah placed 3rd

 

[YakiMan]

I stand corrected. Ki-Be did win District 5.

Both East side District Champions (Cashmere & Ki-Be) were SHUTOUT in the 1st round vs. #5 seeds. Tenino showed that they were no fluke the next week by beating a quality Meridian team in the semifinals.

Bellevue Christian & Howie were healthy at the right time. They were a top 4 team in the state when at full strength. Hopefully the East can get at least one team to Yakima this year.

The East has won 13 of the last 16 1A state titles in baseball.

 

[RhinoFirefighter]

And my westside bias just took a huge kick in the sack...I had no idea it was that one-sided.

 

[davet61]

Spring break will answer some questions about tenino as they will travel to Ki-Be and play a single game with the bears and single games with two other scac east teams, not for sure who the others will be, might be burbank, riverview or connell. Someone else might know for sure.

 

[dontgetburned]

What's all this talk about Tenino? They will do no better than 3rd in the Evergreen League. They won't even get out of District this year.

 

[makeitnasty]

chimacum is going to go all the way. where is the talent from the east side other then them?????

 

[Replay09]

Cashmere only graduated two starters, will have a deep pitching staff this year, and can hit top to bottom through the lineup. Look for the Bulldogs to be hungry this year after last year's disappointing finish.

 

[crazykid#22]

at makeitnasty: One good pitcher can only get you so far! Chimacum may get to the final 4 but i dont think any further.

 

[dontgetburned]

Chimacum has two very good pitchers.

 

[moonshot22]

Cashmere is an overrated squad. Chimacum is hands down the best in the state and should not see much competition.